


Five Times Breakfast Solved Everything (And The One Time It Took A Little More Than Pancakes)

by Nostra



Category: RWBY
Genre: 5 Times, F/M, ooc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2018-01-06 12:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1106563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nostra/pseuds/Nostra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were far more than five times that Ren made Nora pancakes as comfort food, but there was only one time the pancakes were for somebody else - and for that person, it took a little more than breakfast for Ren to mend him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Breakfast Solved Everything (And The One Time It Took A Little More Than Pancakes)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I'm just going to admit now that I've only seen about half of RWBY's first season, so any OOC you notice is because of that. I completed a wish list for 2013's RT Secret Santa, and a couple of the fics were RWBY-verse. I tried my best to complete them anyway, so apologies in advance if anything seems off!

1

Comfort food. Everybody has a specific kind of food that does for him or her what nothing else can. It’s simply a matter of finding it. Ren knew that his was cake. The trouble was finding Nora’s.

He tested food on her desperately, like trying to find a cure to an incurable disease, like Nora’s life depended on it. She must have thought he was out of his mind, but she played along enough. He set out food for her to try almost daily, monitoring her mood in a mental checklist. Nothing seemed to work, really. The yogurt was sub-par at best and the cookies seemed to do fairly well – but nothing too substantial. The nachos fared disastrously. That was a night he’d never forget – he cringed at the thought. There had to be something, something…

If there was one thing Ren believed in, it was comfort food.

2

He was still searching for said food after a rough night for the team. In the morning, she trudged her way out of bed after a harsh battle. He studied the kitchen for something – anything – that could cheer her up, that could help her in any way, no matter how small. He gazed into the fridge anxiously, her footsteps slowly approaching. Grapes, salad, pudding… No, no, no. Scanning, his eyes finally rested on a small cake he’d purchased for himself the previous week. He smiled, reaching for it – but wait. He glanced to the window, just brightening with the rising sun. It was still far too early. Cursing, he shut the fridge and perused the cupboards. If only they had morning cakes…

Pancakes! He almost screamed with excitement – success? He reached in and pulled out the basic ingredients, rushing to the counter.

“Where’s the fire?” Nora said with a small smirk. He looked up to her – she’d made her way to one of the stools lining the countertop. He studied her carefully with darkened eyes.

“Good morning. I’m making you breakfast.”

That’s all he said before furiously mixing and turning to pull out pans, utensils. Desperation.

“I can help.” She stood slowly but landed on a now-bad leg, stumbling and recovering quickly, too quickly for anybody to really notice. Except for Ren.

“I’m doing it,” he said sternly. She nodded – she knew that voice. She sat quietly. Even her smile, the smile that could fool anybody, could never fool him. He whisked the batter harder. Broke eggs. Stirred milk. Turning on the stove, he rushed to get some pancakes into the pan, turning them after a few minutes. He ran to pour her some milk and prepare plates and silverware.

“Ren, it’s really –“

“Shh.” He put out a hand to stop her. When she looked up at him, he sighed, flipping the breakfast food onto the plate. They were perfect.

He watched as she lifted them to her mouth.

“Wait!” He cried. Running to the fridge, he then realized – no syrup. He scanned furiously through the entirety of the fridge, of the cupboards, even the pantry – but nothing.

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said mostly to himself. After a few minutes of uselessly shuffling food about, he gave up. Defeated, he slumped toward Nora, slinking like a homeless cat.

“Sorry I ruined th-“ But when he looked – she had cleared the plate already.

“Nora! I’m sorry,” he began to say, but when she looked up, he saw that she wore a massive smile. Tears streaked down her face.

“Thank you.”

3

“Catch!”

Another morning and more pancakes. Nora jumped across the room in a single bound, thrusting out her plate and catching the pancakes effortlessly. Ren was relieved to have somebody around that smiled so easily; now the grin danced at the edge of her lips as she hummed happily.

“Got it!” She laughed before sitting and stuffing the little fried cakes into her mouth.

“Syrup’s here,” Ren nodded to the counter before turning back to the pan to make his own pancakes. He moved deliberately, scooping the batter slowly from the edges of the bowl and pouring the rest into the pan, a huge puddle of dough coating the hot pan and sizzling.

“Don’t need,” Nora’s loud voice came muffled through her full mouth.

Ren stopped and turned to her.

“You can’t eat them without syrup.”

Nora raised her eyebrows and laughed. Ren watched as she stuffed the rest of the plate into her mouth and downed her glass of milk, no doubt washing down the dry food on her behalf. She smiled again, her teeth shining white in the otherwise darkened room, the sky still black with early morning.

“Sure I can!” She called, closing her eyes and tilting her head slightly. Ren shook his head.

“The syrup’s the best part.”

Nora shrugged. He stared at her for some time before a noise reached his ears – the piercing sound of an alarm.

Cursing under his breath, he turned to his pan and screeched.

“Ah, forgot the butter!”

 Lifting the blackened mess, he ran to the sink and pulled the tap on, letting the water sizzle on the hot pan, steam rising into the air. He sighed.

“You have a lot of strong feelings about syrup.”

He laughed, sheepishly placing a hand behind his head as his cheeks reddened.

4

The second time he burned the pancakes, Nora was there to rescue him.

“Here, let me!” She shouted cheerfully, coming around behind him. He stumbled with weak knees as he felt her warmth from behind him, the fabric of her clothes brushing against his. She reached around and grasped the pan over his hand. Ren stumbled back, letting go of the pan and blushing.

She simply smiled, taking the pan as though she was the knight in shining armor and he the princess. She rinsed the pan and renewed its butter, then splashed the dough into the pan and waited for its surface to bubble. Nora held the spatula in her hand like a sword.

“Don’t you worry, Ren, I’ve got this!” She said bravely. He laughed, turning to make his coffee. She didn’t take coffee. She didn’t need to.

Scooping grinds, pushing buttons, waiting. Waiting. Brewing. Bubbling. Pouring. Stirring. He sighed happily, smelling the steam coming off the top of the cup. Divine. When he turned, mug in hand, he couldn’t help noticing that she was watching him. He felt her presence, her eyes studying him. How long had she been watching him? He looked up from the cup, and she turned away from him quickly, blushing.

That was the third time the pancakes burned, to no fault of Ren’s.

5

The next week, Ren sat at the counter beside Nora, digging into his plate of pancakes - not before drowning them in syrup, of course.

“You actually like it that sweet?”

Ren couldn’t help but smile through his full cheeks. She spoke with no derision – the smile always hinting at the end of her voice, at the tail of the sound. She was always amused.

“Not everybody can sweeten their pancakes with their personality, Nora.”

At that Nora beamed.

6

Traditions run oddly in places like these.

It seemed that after anything rough happened these days, he made her pancakes. There was only one time that Nora made them for Ren. “I’m supposed to be making them for you,” he said (a tad begrudgingly, he would later admit. He liked helping her).

She said nothing, which was odd for Nora. It made Ren anxious.

“Nora-“

“Hush. I’m concentrating.”

That was all it took. Ren said nothing, silence filling the kitchen. It was eerie. The silence was broken, however, by a racket on the door.

“I’ll get it!” She called. She left the pancakes unattended. Ren knew she’d be angry if he interfered, so he stayed seated, listening to the muffled voices at the door. When Nora returned, it was with a familiar face.

“Jaune!” Ren called, standing. He wasn’t sure why he stood. He shifted from foot to foot.

“Hey, Ren,” Jaune smiled. He was another one who smiled easily. So giving. Ren laughed.

Jaune studied him for a moment with a quirked head like a puppy. This made Ren laugh again.

“Sorry,” he said through poorly stifled giggles.

Jaune just smiled, stepping toward Ren.

“You boys have fun, but behave!” Nora said suddenly. Ren jumped. He’d forgotten she was there.

“What about the –“

Nora gestured, bobbing her head toward Jaune and quite literally pointing fingers. Jaune turned toward her and she stopped abruptly, smiling as innocently as somebody like Nora could manage.

Jaune sat down, so Ren guessed he was meant to make the pancakes. He stepped mechanically – making pancakes now an extremely common feature in his life.

“So why’d you call me here, Ren?” Jaune asked suddenly.

Ren turned his head, scrunching his eyebrows.

“Hm? I…” He shifted his eyes uncomfortably. He hadn’t – suddenly he saw Nora waving her arms frantically from the doorway. What was going on?

He turned back to the pancakes, quickly flipping them.

“Just, ah…” He looked to Nora again, trying to remain inconspicuous, “Wanted to make you pancakes.” Nora gave him a thumbs up, so he guessed that was good.

“Okay.” Jaune was quiet. Odd for Jaune…

Ren served his food without another word. He couldn’t help but notice, though, that Jaune’s hands shook as he reached for the plate. Finally Ren got it – comfort food. Nora brought Jaune so that Ren would serve him comfort food. The cure all, he imagined she’d hoped. Ren smiled to himself and shook his head. Then he remembered Jaune, and with a frown, he turned to the blonde boy.

“Let’s talk about whatever’s wrong. After your pancakes.” Jaune smiled weakly.

“Okay,” Jaune said as Ren sat beside him, “But how’d you know…?” Ren shrugged and Jaune shook his head in disbelief.

Jaune ate his pancakes as Nora watched from the sidelines. Nora seemed to bore after a while, leaving before Jaune even finished eating. The two boys talked after, about what was bothering Jaune, and so he left in higher spirits than he’d arrived – an improvement, at least. Ren began to wash the pan at the sink.

Nora returned after hearing the door close.

“Did it work?” She called happily. Ren laughed to himself.

“Works every time.”


End file.
